Epiphany~ The Kings have come to worship Him

I just realized as I was contemplating the taking down of our Christmas decorations that I had forgotten to show you the wooden nativity that I had made for the little ones to play with. I posted a preview when I had cut everything out and sanded it back in September, here. I did decide to both wood burn the details and paint them with a nice watercolor wash after all.

Claire and Emmett both really enjoyed playing with the little wooden figures. We have several beautiful picture books depicting the story of the birth of Jesus. I was asked to read one or several of them almost daily over the past month or two. After  we read the story they would climb down from the sofa and go over to the little table where we had the nativity figures and the would play with them telling each other the story and acting out the parts with the wooden dolls. Claire did request that I make a "bad king" (Herod) for her to use next year. :-) Ours will be the only nativity scene I've ever seen complete with a king Herod!

The stable didn't get made for them this Christmas, I had great intentions, but like so many other things this fall and winter I realized that I simply couldn't do it. I have really enjoyed this Christmas season so much more because of that. It didn't feel like laziness, it felt good and relaxed, like I was keeping my priorities straight and not trying to "do it all". Instead of driving myself mad trying to get everything finished and have all handmade gifts for each of my children, and baking cookies for all of our friends and neighbors, and hosting a party for our homeschool group; I chose to cuddle with my kids and breathe in that sweet new baby smell. We played games and read stories, sang Christmas carols, and watched a few Christmas specials on TV.  I made exactly one batch of homemade cookies and that was it. And you know, my children didn't seem to mind one little bit. There was pretty much zero pinterest worth crafting for or with kids happening, and the meals were (mostly) wholesome and yummy and humble, nothing fancy and time consuming was attempted. And the house, it was not spotless! And I completely enjoyed it all! I rested and recovered and just was "there".

It has truly been a wonderful Christmas season. On Christmas morning my sweet Claire woke up to find her stocking filled and a beautiful present for her under the tree. She was so excited! After about half an hour I mentioned to her that we needed to get out of our pajamas because we were going to Grandma and Grandpa's house to spend Christmas there. She immediately ran to Emmett and told him "Emmett we have to get dressed, we're going to have a birthday party for Jesus with Grandma!" ♥ She had no expectations of anything for herself, she was just happy because we were celebrating Jesus' birthday. My sweet girl, she melts my heart!

Handmade Holidays 2013...so I begin

Yes I know...It seems very early in the year to be thinking about Christmas gifts. But folks, my darling husband just told me there are only 110 days left until Christmas. That's less than 4 months! And this year I don't want to be caught unprepared. Plus in my case there are some special circumstances coming into play over the next few months which necessitate my getting things done early or probably not done at all. Not the least of which is the impending birth of our sweet little girl due in November, and family coming to stay from out of the country for several weeks in December!  Since I probably wont get much wood working done after the baby gets here I am trying to get that part of my handmade holiday preparations finished now! Sawdust and baby wearing really don't go hand in hand!

I've wanted to make a wooden Nativity set for the little ones to play with for a couple of years and I just never got around to it for some reason. I have the set I played with as a child, but it's more delicate than these sturdy wooden figures, so I really don't like them playing with it unsupervised. I have, until now, kept it out of their reach and only brought it down to the coffee table for them to tell the story of Jesus' birth and then back up it goes as soon as we're done playing and telling. But my plans for this one are to leave it within their reach all Christmas season so that they can interact with it as often as they desire!

I looked at a couple of  natural toy catalogs I have and different stores online then drew out the elements I liked best from several different wooden Nativity scenes. Next I transferred the outlines of my drawings to the wood, and cut them out with my scroll saw during two afternoon nap times last week. (I try to get the potentially dangerous crafting done while the under 4 crowd is napping in the afternoon!)  Yesterday during nap time I managed to get them all sanded and snapped these pictures outside just as the little ones were waking up from their naps. Sometime over the next couple of days I plan on wood burning details into them, and I'll probably add some nice watercolor washes to them. I haven't decided for sure whether I will paint them or not, I'm leaning towards yes, I will, but we'll see how I feel about it once I get the wood burning done... Then to seal the wood with some kid friendly homemade beeswax wood protector. And I'll be done!

Oh and I still would like to come up with a nice little stable for everyone to hang out in, at least something big enough for the Holy family and a few animals, and as always sturdy enough to stand up to years of play! Or at very least to survive Emmett's toddlerhood! He's rather a force of nature, that one! Kind of like what an insurance company might describe as an "Act of God" :-) That's it, our darling little Emmett~ our own personal Act of God! I read recently on someone's blog that a friend had described her toddler boy as feral, sometimes I feel like that might describe our child too. You'd think after having this many kids (he's #5 for goodness sake!) that we'd have this parenting little ones thing all figured out. Ha! Not really, this kid is so different from any of my other children. He is sweet, and loving, and always happy...until he's not!  He is very friendly and outgoing and extremely high needs all at the same time. At least the fact that he is number five gives me the perspective of knowing that although some days are completely draining and can feel like they last forever, time really does have a way of passing so quickly and pretty soon, he'll be beyond this stage and on to some new and exciting development! :-) That perspective is something that I am very thankful for, that comes from having gone through these years before, and really wanting to mindfully make the very most of them now, because this adorableness, and even this neediness doesn't last forever. At least not in the same ways.

Linking up with Nicole here and Linda here.

The Boys' Natural History Museum

Over the Christmas holidays the boys decided to create a natural history museum in their bedroom. Most of the things they have had in there for a while but the gifts of some gorgeous new playsilks from a dear friend and my mother-in-law's kind help in deep cleaning their room with them, fueled their choice to do something extra special with their space!

{Welcome signs and admission information as well as the Museum's curator's names. (I should clarify that the Natural History Museum was entirely Matthew's and Ethan's idea as shown by the bottom sign on the door. {see close up of said sign below, click to zoom on any of the pictures} Logan really had nothing to do with it, as in his very mature 14 year old-ness he was just happy not to be crunching 8 zillion legos underfoot!) }

{The ______ Boys Natural History Museum.  Do not touch anything. 25¢ Please Knock}

(Family name blanked out to protect our privacy :-) }

{The two _____ boys, Yes Matthew and Ethan No Logan) {Matthew explained to us that this was to avoid any confusion over who was responsible for the Museum}

{Matthew said that this is their dragon who was discovered by some friends of theirs. It appears legless, but he further explained, that is only because it was caught while in flight! Dragon's legs apparently tuck up underneath them while flying!}

{Mexican Rose Knee Tarantula... yes this is actually living in my boys' room, in a tank on their nightstand... sweet dreams my angels! Better them than me, having that for a room-mate!} 

*And for the record she has only escaped once. Back in 2009 when I was pregnant with Claire, Ethan had fed her some crickets and left the lid to her tank ajar... the next morning we realized she (the spider) was missing. Much frantic searching ensued with no luck whatsoever. After a few weeks we assumed she had died and forgot about her completely. Not terribly smart on my part... but you know, I was pregnant and had other things on my mind. One night a few hours after we put the kids to bed we went to bed ourselves. Rodrigo fell right to sleep but I decided to read for a while before going to sleep. I was laying there nestled all snug in my bed reading, the house peaceful and quiet, when suddenly out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw a huge shadow move up across the wall right beside me. I turned my head and crawling above me up the wall was a very hungry, very huge and hairy tarantula. Honey, you have never seen a pregnant woman move quite so fast! I am actually not normally afraid of tarantulas or any other spider... but this was the middle of the night and I was really startled! I woke  Rodrigo up (by jumping completely over him and out of his side of the bed, while screaming!) and insisted that he catch that big hairy thing immediately, or I would never be able to sleep again! He did and she is happily back where she belongs~ bigger and hairier than ever! 

OK now back to the tour of the Natural History Museum. ;-)

{A white tail deer drawn by Matthew.}

{Genuine Australian Boomerangs. A gift from the boys' Australian great-Uncle Magnus} 

{Hammerhead Shark and Bottle-nose Dolphin drawn by Matthew.} 

{A silk pirate's treasure map and the world's largest "diamond" which it led to...}

{The Native American Indian area. Complete with dioramas, ceremonial masks, arrows, shields, and various other artifacts, displayed on a new rainbow silk.}

{The Penobscot  Indians, diorama by Matthew} 

{Cliff dwelling Indians, Diorama by Ethan}

{Pretty! Matthew had asked for a Leopard gecko for Christmas this year. His grandparents got him this little beauty!} 

{The Wall of Curiosities and Wonders. Top shelf: a handmade flute from a small village of river dwelling Indians from the Peruvian Amazon and Whitetail Deer's antler almost out of the picture. Second shelf: Drawing of American Goldfinch by Logan, and a wooden carving from Bali. Third shelf: a collection of skulls from our travels. Black bear from a friend here in the Tennessee Mountains, Dog Skull from the woods behind my mom's house, Agouti Paca Skull from a walk through the jungle in Guatemala, Raccoon skull from Kentucky, Wild cat (possibly Margay also found in the jungle in Guatemala, Coati Mundi skull found near Tikal National park Guatemala. And a real dart blow gun brought from Peru, by my parents for the boys. With real darts made of porcupine quills... it really shoots them. Thanks mom! Bottom shelf: Plaster casting of a raccoon's footprint, a raccoon skull, various seashells, and a cow's vertebrate.} 

{Candles from Africa, shells and another plaster casting of a raccoon's footprint}

{Close-up of a few of the skulls... Why yes, that is washi tape holding the raccoon's lower jaw together... what would you have used? ;-)} 

A Choir of Angels and a Giveaway!

I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people! 

And a giveaway!

^{Luke 2: 8-14}

⁸ Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. ¹⁰ Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 

¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 
       ¹⁴ “ Glory to God in the highest, 
      And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

I made these little angels for a swap I participated in hosted by the lovely Ms. Bloom of the blog We Bloom Here. I made them in the Waldorf tradition, using all natural materials and giving them simple faces. But since these were meant to be more for Christmas Decorations or for the Winter Nature Table I decided to add some sparkly beads to their gowns. I really do love making this type of doll. Every one is the result of a lot of hard work, but so worth it, as I think each one turns out beautifully! I love how they all look different and each seems to have her (and his) own sweet little personality! 

The little boy angel I made especially for my children. I crocheted his hair out of the same yarn I used for the girl angels. I love how soft and curly he looks. Logan (my oldest son) laughed and said his hair looks like he has an afro... he is an afro baby angel according to him! I love my afro baby angel! And Claire does too! She has not left him alone since I gave him to them. I don't think the beads on his robe will last for very long though!

Just in time for Christmas and celebrating the announcement of the birth of Jesus the Savior of mankind, I am hosting my first giveaway! I've wanted to do this for a while, at first I planned on doing it for my blog's first anniversary, then I was going to do it for my hundredth post... both of those came and went, in a flurry of living a very full life. So now this is my 137th post, about time to have this giveaway already!

This sweet little Angel doll is looking for a new home. The giveaway is open to any and all around the world! The only requirement is that you leave me a comment on this post. If you want to follow my blog, or post about the giveaway on facebook, twitter or even blog about it, that would be great, :-) but not needed to win! Only one comment per person please! Just be sure to leave me a way to contact you, if your comment is not connected to a blog. 

The winner will be selected by a random number generator on next Sunday evening December 11, 2011. I can wait!

Luke 2:15-20

¹⁵ So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. ¹⁷ Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. ¹⁸ And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

Seasonal Handmade Exchange Part 2

Yay! Today we received our package from Jen for the Seasonal Handmade Exchange. What fun! There wasn't much light in the house as the sun was already sinking in the sky when we open it, but I still managed to get a few pictures of the items she sent us before it set completely.

In our package we found five sweet little wool heart ornaments made from upcycled felted (fulled) sweaters and stuffed with wool...

And my favorite item... a delicate roving angel. She is so pretty on our Christmas Tree right now!

The boys thought it was such fun getting these things in the mail! I can't wait to participate in another swap sometime soon!

Seasonal Handmade Exchange

I just participated in my very first swap ever! The Seasonal Handmade Exchange hosted by Jen of Sewn Natural Studio and Rae of Morning Sun Rae. The idea was to swap a handmade item for one's nature table crafted from natural materials. Jen turned out to be my swap partner. It was pretty exciting to get paired with someone known all over blogland for her creativity, but a little bit intimidating as well! I had just designed these cute little wooden snow babies complete with a sled to pull each other around (or even to give their favorite snowman a ride!) So, I decided to make those for her, and make another set for us later.

I waited to post pictures of them until she emailed me that she had received them. I wasn't sure how long shipping would take all the way to Canada from here, but it wasn't too bad actually. Aren't they cute? I was pretty happy with how they turned out!

Rodrigo (my husband -for those of you who haven't been reading my blog for long) keeps trying to get me to open up an Etsy shop and sell my little wooden creations, because he thinks they are adorable... that really intimidates me! (The opening the shop part, not that he loves my little wooden toys!) I feel like "What if I devote all of that time and energy and love into making sweet little things and then no one wants them?"

I got as far as signing up, and choosing a shop name... but still haven't listed anything. Someday... maybe...

WIP Wednesday ~ more handmade presents

I just wanted to share the sweet little needle felted terrarium I made for my sister-in-law for Christmas. I found this adorable apothecary jar one evening when Rodrigo and I were out on a date and knew as soon as I saw it, what I wanted to use it for! I finished it up last night... what do you think?

The boys and I dyed all of the wool using Kool-aid and food coloring... I love how many of the colors turned out mottled looking with different shades running all through the wool. It made for lovely moss and rocks!

I decided to make my terrarium look "realistic" (well, if of course you can consider a tiny wee rabbit inside a terrarium realistic!) So I added dirt under the moss, as well as several wool stones.

The following is the project I spent all of my free time working on today:  A little cape for Claire out of the same fabric as the one I am making for me. The closer I got to finishing it the bigger it seemed. I don't have much experience sewing for baby girls, and the patterns have different sizes than I am used to seeing for baby's clothing... The pattern was for toddler's sizes 1/2, (one half), 1, 2, and 3. I was assuming by the measurements on the back of the pattern that 1/2 was equal to a 6 month size, and size 1 was a 12 month size. Here is the cape nearly finished, it still lacks the closures ... Since Claire is nearly a year old (!) and wears a size 12 months clothes I used the size 1 toddler's pattern.

And here is the cape being modeled by Ethan who is 7 years old!!! It's huge!

There is no way my poor little Claire is going to be able to wear this any time in the next 2 years (or possibly more!) I really can't figure out how this happened! The size 1/2 wasn't that much smaller (maybe an half an inch shorter, or so.) They don't make patterns in size one tenth.... so now what?  At least it went together quickly, during both of her naps today! And someday she'll be big enough to wear it...